Pushing vehicles to their limits, evaluating how well they do in an emergency situation,
and evaluating how they handle everyday driving. Those are some of the 50-plus tests
Consumer Reports puts vehicles through to find the best performers.
To be a top pick, the vehicle also has to be reliable, because you don't want to spend
time taking your vehicle to the shop, which can cost you. And the vehicles have to
perform well if they have gone through industry or government crash tests.
Recommended Videos
Toyota is back this year. Out of the 10 top picks, Toyota took five of them.
Among them
is the Toyota Camry Hybrid, this year's top pick for family sedan. It's engaging to
drive, gets an impressive 38 mpg, and has a nice plush interior.
In the family SUV category, the Toyota Highlander is the top pick. And the Toyota
Prius is the top pick for a green car.
The two other Toyotas that Consumer Reports named top picks are the Toyota RAV4 for small SUV and the Toyota Sienna for family hauler.
In the past few years Toyota had a lot of recalls, but Consumer Reports' reliability data has found they are back on track with excellent reliability.
Ford and Chevy each got a top spot. The Chevrolet Avalanche is the 2012 top pick for
pickup truck. And the Ford Mustang muscled its way to the top pick sporty car. And
unlike others in its class, it's comfortable and gets pretty good fuel economy.